Shaping Little Minds

Welcome back to the new and improved Shaping Little Minds Podcast! For the duration of August, I am bringing you teachers from various walks of life who are here to discuss their passions, their tips and tricks, and their classroom experiences. In today's episode, Jon dives into the ins and outs of classroom management and shares his method in his classroom that has been super successful. I c...

I want to help you to radically shift the way you’re approaching teaching. It took me 5 years to shift the way I approached teaching and make room to love life outside of the classroom. There are shifts I made when I decided it was time to move from a burnout cycle and a teacher who worked around the clock to a teacher who maximized her time in school, trusted herself, was confident in her teachin...

I've been thinking about you! Summer vacation has either already begun or it's about to and you're already thinking about next school year. Your days are free, you aren't doing much so how can you not think about next year?  In today's episode, I want to help you take all the preventative measures so that you not only set yourself up for an incredible school year, you also...

Mindset is something that is critical to teaching inside the classroom, especially in the post-covid era. It has a huge positive impact on students; from building positive relationships, to believing in themselves, to higher student engagement in the classroom. In today's episode, we dive into the following: What is mindset; growth vs. fixed mindset Why is mindset important for you to underst...

Aditya is the author of Treating Mathematics Anxiety and is the founder of Elephant Learning, which produces mathematics education courses, software, and professional development that specializes in getting youth who are behind caught up to their grade level. On today's podcast episode I got to sit down with Aditya and talk about math anxiety, where it stems from, and how we as teachers can p...

It's every teachers' dream to have a thriving classroom. The question then becomes... how do we get there? How does one thrive during the busiest seasons? We are in one of those busy seasons right now and I want to dive into the first 3 steps that can truly make a world of a difference when you have the tools and strategies you need.  The Art of Lesson Planning. This is where you lesson...

This podcast topic came to me while listening to a podcast earlier this week. I'm sharing the raw truth behind the teacher struggles I've faced and how I overcame those struggles throughout my time inside the classroom.  Struggle 1:  Getting so overwhelmed that nothing would get done Struggle 2:  Feeling like I'm not good enough Struggle 3:  Behavior management All of these struggle...

We are diving into the 3 KEY elements of a managed classroom. A managed classroom can look all sorts of ways but there are elements you need to think about when approaching the classroom.   Key Element #1: Reacting vs. Responding Key Element #2: Navigating Stress + Overwhelm in the Classroom Key Element #3: Know Your Triggers My question to you is… what do you think of when you hear the words “man...

Play is a critical piece to learning inside the classroom. As teachers, we want our students to develop a love of learning... so why not making the learning process more fun?!  Today's guest, Amy from Sparks Joy with Amy, is on the podcast to talk to us all about play and more importantly, why it's such a critical piece in the way we teach our students.  We discuss: Why play plays such a...

I had the pleasure of doing a LIVE podcast event last weekend where I got to record this week's podcast episode. We are talking about the 3 things no one tells you about classroom management.  We discuss: managing YOUR emotions, as the teacher being able to take a step back before intervening the importance of repetition I truly think this will change the way you approach classroom management...

We  discuss the importance of art in the classroom, how to make art more developmentally appropriate, AND a new method of teaching art called TAB. I had the lovely and wonderful Faigie on the podcast and am excited for you to hear her passion for art through this episode.  I truly believe in the power of art. It can help young children develop in ways you never thought possible and can be truly em...

If you've heard about human design and you're not sure what it is... this is a great episode for you!  If you're wondering how human design can help you in the classroom as a teacher... this is the episode for you! Today, I am joined by Tiffini who is a veteran teacher and human design coach is on the podcast today! We covered:  What human design is and where it comes from The diffe...

If you are feeling like nothing you do is working for your classroom, this is an episode you're going to want to tune into. There are many reasons things in your classroom and today, I'm bringing to the forefront the three most common reasons nothing is progressing in your classroom. You're not consistent You're not willing to Zoom out in order to see what changes need to be ma...

This is the time of year when teachers start to countdown the days till the end of the school year. This is the time of year where the mindset starts to become: “If I can get through X number of weeks or days, I’ll be good to go!” What if you could LOVE teaching and thrive?  I’ve got 3 tips for you: Tip #1: Set Boundaries Tip #2: Do things that bring you JOY Tip #3: Create space for intentional re...

Something so many teachers, new and veteran alike, struggle with behaviors in the classroom. It can feel impossible to navigate behaviors among all the other things happening inside the classroom. I did maternity leave coverage last school year and this class was TOUGH. I had been in the classroom on and off for nine years and I was struggling. So, today’s podcast episode is 3 ways I learned to na...

I have the incredible Ashley Strong Smith. Ashley is a courage coach who helps women live out intentional, courageous and dream-filled lives. We had the most incredible conversation and Ashley gave SO much good insight about how you can live a more courageous life outside of the classroom. Please help me welcome Ashley to the podcast! We talk about:  what it means to live a courageous life actions...

I never thought I was good at time management until I learned the tools to help me. As teachers we HAVE to manage our time during school hours otherwise we'll find ourselves working at all hours of the day and night and truly burning the candle at both ends. Sometimes without the right tools, it can feel close to impossible. That's why I recorded today's podcast episode give you the...

If you raise your voice, but feel like maybe you shouldn't or you don't have enough experience, this is the PERFECT podcast episode for you to tune into. As teachers, we can do so much more than just teach. We can teach others about what we do inside the classroom! It's something I started doing in 2020. It was scary but so worth it!  Carla is joining me to talk about this idea of r...

Burnout has become a normalized part of society but specifically normalized in the education space. I know that from the comments you see all over the internet from other teachers saying that it’s normal or it’s just a part of the job. I’m going to say that this absolutely should NOT be the norm. We are in the midst of a teacher shortage and there's a good reason for it.  In this episode, we...

It can be really hard to be flexible as a new or even struggling teacher. When it comes to flexibility in the classroom it’s about knowing when to change course, accepting that it won’t be perfect, and being prepared for anything that comes up during the school day. We break all of this down inside the podcast episode by asking: How does one know when to change course?  How can we accept that our...

Mindfulness is not only an important part of a persons life but also a part of the classroom for both yourself and your students. Today's guest is a Certified Mindfulness & Meditation Teacher and the founder of Goldminds Canada, a mindfulness for kids organization that creates a safe space for kids to talk about their emotions and participate in fun exercises that introduce them to deep b...

Literacy is an integral part of learning for children of all ages. It almost as important, if not more important, for children in early childhood. Early childhood is when children acquire a love of learning. In today's podcast episode, I had Beck from Grow with Beck which is an early education company that helps young learners develop literacy skills, early learning, and kindergarten readines...

Classroom routines are probably one of the hardest things to teach our students as new teachers. Many times, we over think and over complicate or doubt our abilities to be able to not only implement routines but also make them stick. Today we're talking about how to teach the routines you want to see inside your classroom. I give you a detailed explanation along with questions you can answer...

New teachers struggle to know where to begin once they get assigned to their own classroom. Unfortunately, I've spoken to many of those teachers; some are starting mid-year and some already started but are feeling not good enough. There are tools and knowledge teachers need that isn't given when you're in school for teaching. In today's episode, I dive into the first step teach...

As we move into 2024, I truly believe it's important for us to not only set goals for the new year but also reflect on the year that passed. Celebrate the good and find ways to navigate the bad differently in the following year. Today, I'm sharing six lessons I learned in 2023, after a truly difficult 2022. I'm walking into 2024 excited and ready to take action on my BIG goals! Happ...